Sewing-machine.



' PATENTED AUG. 11,1908. E. J. TOOF, DEGD. A E AVERY ADMINISTRATRIX SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DOT. 7, 1907.

- 'INVENZ'OH WITNESSES I ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT orFrcE.

EDWIN (I. TOOF, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT; ANNIE ELIZABETH AVERY ADMINISTRATRIX OF SAID EDWIN J. TOOF, DECEASED.

SEWIN G-MACHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Original application filed January 5, 1907, Serial No. 350,897. Divided and this application filed October 7, 1907. Serial No. 396,125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN J. Toor, citizen of the United States, and resident of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sewing machines of the rotary looper class, and is in the nature of an improvement upon that made the subject-matter of Letters Patent No. 863,490, dated August 13, 1907.

In the machine of the aforesaid patent a rotary looper having a contained bobbincase and bobbin is detachably connected to a rotary driver at the under sideof the sewing machine bed-plate, the said looper and bobbin-case both being open at their rear side to permit of the insertion and removal of a bobbin to and from a position within the bobbin-case upon the removal of the looper from connection with its driver and the said bobbin-case being provided at its front side with an opening for the insertion of the operators ilnger in ejecting the bobbin from the bobbin-case upon such removal of the looper from its driver. It has been found desirable, however, that said opening in the front wall of the bobbin-case should also be capable of being utilized for the insertion of the operators finger in conveniently and firmly grasping the looper and bobbin-case in effecting the disconnection of the same from the looper driver; such use of said opening in the machine of the aforesaid patent not having been readily permissible for the reason that a so-called bobbinretainer carried by the looper driver in a position for engagement with the bobbin at its rear side operated to hold the bobbin in such close relation to the opening in the front wall of the bobbin-case as to prevent entry of the operators finger through said opening until subsequent to a partial outward withdrawal of the looper and bobbin-case from connection with the looper driver and until after a preliminary or initial grasping of the looper in effecting such partial withdrawal of the same.

' It has therefore been one of the main objects of my present invention to provide a means whereby the operator may be permitted to enter a finger into the opening in the front wall of the bobbin-case upon taking initial hold of the looper and bobbin-case preparatory to withdrawing them from connection with the looper-driver.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a means for increasing the distance between the front wall of the bobbin-case, which constitutes one bobbin-retainer, and the oppositely located bobbin-retainer attached to the looper-driver, preliminary to the operator grasping the looper and .bobbin-case for the purpose of withdrawing them from connection with the looper-driver, whereby space may be provided for the entry of the operators finger into the said opening in the front wall of the bobbin-case in grasping the same. Such increase in distance between the oppositely located bobbin-retainers is provided, in the present case, by rendering one of the retainers movable with respect to the other in a direction to vary the bobbin containing space therebetween a means for rendering the retainers so movable being illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and set forth in the detailed description which follows:

Referring now to the drawings, in which I have illustrated only so much of a sewing machine as is necessary to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a front end elevation of a rotary looper'and associated parts embodying my invention, together with a portion of g a hanger at the under side of the sewing ma chine bed-plate in which the looper driver is journaled at its forward end. Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of the looper-driver with the looper and its contained parts discon-- nected therefrom. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation through the looper, looperdriver, and associated parts, with the bob inretainers and other parts in normal operative position. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the inner bobbin-retainer forced inward to increase the distance between the two retainers sufficiently to ermit of the entry of the operators finger t rough the opening in the front wall of the bobbin-case for gripping engagement with the latter.

In the drawings, 40 indicates a portion of a hanger at the under side of'the sewing machine bed-plate in which is journaleda rotary driving shaft 13 having attached to its front end a head or disk 18 in the face side of which is formed an open socket 19 adapted to receive the attaching shank of a'looper, the said shaft 13 with its attached head or disk 18 constituting a looper-driver.

, The looper shown in the present case for connection with the said driver is what is commonly known as a hook and comprises a body portion 2 having a loop-seizing beak 3 and a central opening or chamber 4 for the reception of a bobbin-case 5, which latter is retained in operative connection with the hook in the usual manner by means of a' peripheral flange 6 thereon extending into a race-way groove 7 in the wall of the said hook chamber 4 and is held in a non-rotary position with respect to the hook by means of an arm 8 thereon loosely engaging a cooperating part on the needle-plate (not shown).

The hook is provided at its rear side with a tubular shank 20 as a means for eflecting connection with the driver disk 18, the said shank being adapted to be inserted into the open socket 19- of the said driver disk and be removably retained therein by a suitable locking means, such means in the present case comprising a locking-lever 24 which is pivoted at 24 on the rear side of the driver disk and arranged with one end 25 normally extending through a slot 18 in the driver disk to a position for locking engagement with the hook shank 20 in a slot 27 therein and its opposite or operating end 28 extending to a convenient position to be reached by the operator adjacent to the periphery of the disk. In placing the hook in operative con nection with its driver, the beveled end 20 of the hook shank 20 in being entered into the driver socket will engage with the inwardly projecting end 25 of the locking-lever 24 and force the same laterally outward whereby it will ride u on the outer surface of the shank until the sl dt 27 in the latter has been brought into registry with it, at which time the lever will automatically snap into the said slot under the action of a suitable spring, such as indicated at 30, and so operate to lock the hook in connection with the driver.

To unlock the hook preparatory to its dis- "connection from the driver, it is only necessary for the operator to press inwardly upon the face end of the locking lever, which operation removes its inner or locking end from looking position in the slot 27 of the hook shank.

In view-of the detachable connection of the hook with its driver in the manner described, the usual bobbin-retainer latch at the front side of the bobbin-case is dispensed with. This is permitted by making both the hook and the bobbin-case open at their rear side in a position registering with the 0 ening through the tubular attaching shan 20 of the hook whereby the bobbin, indicated at 11, may be entered to or removed from its position in the bobbin-case at the rear side of the hook. With this construction of hook and bobbin-case, the latter will preferably be providedwith an inwardly turned bobbinretaining flange or wall 12 for engagement with the bobbin at the front side thereof and suitable means will also be provided for engagement with the bobbin at its rear side so as to retain the same in operative position in the bobbin-case after the hook has been connected with its driver. The means herein shownfor so engaging with the bobbin at its rear side comprises a retainer in the form of a screw 14 having a longitudinally adjustable screw-threaded connection with the hook driver at the center of its socket 19. An important feature of this retainer is the fact that it may be adjusted relatively to the bobbin-retaining wall 12 at the front side of the the same to accommodate bob ins of difien.

ent lengths or sizes and also provide the proper clearance space between the said retainer and the adjacent end of the bobbin for the passage of the inner side of the needlethread loop when the latter is being carried around the bobbin by the hook in the usual manner.

The construction and operation of parts thus far described is the same as that of the aforesaid patent, and I will now proceed to describe my improvements as embodied in connection therewith. The 0 erator, in disconnecting the looper and bol ibin-case from the looper-driver 1n the manner heretofore accomplished, usually grasps the looper at opposite sides thereof between the thumb and finger and with the thumb in position for pressing the lever 24 inwardly to release the ooper, after which releasing operation is effected the operator withdraws the looper and contained parts from connection with the looper-driver and then ejects the bobbin from the bobbin-case by the entry of the finger through the opening 12 in the front of the bobbincase. It is desirable however, as hereinbefore stated, that the operator may be permitted to enter a finger into said. open ing 12 in the front wall of the bobbin-case for the purpose of conveniently and firmly grasping the same preparatory to disconnecting the looper and bobbin-case from the looper-driver, and this may be permitted by increasing the distance between the retainers at opposite sides of the bobbin preliminary to the operator grasping the looper for the ur ose of disconnecting itfrom its driver. l Diflerent means for effecting such preliminary increase of distance between the retainers may be employed, such for example as the means disclosed in my Letters Patent No. 869,112, dated October 22, 1907, which patent embodies different species of the invention therein claimed, and one of which species is made the subject-matter of this application.

In the present case, the means disclosed for effecting the preliminary increase of distance between the retainers comprises means for movably supporting the retainer 14 in its normal operative bobbin-retaining position in a manner to permit of its being moved backward or in a direction away from the front bobbin-retainer 12, such backward movement being conveniently accom lished by the operator engaging the bobbin tfirough the opening in the front of the bobbin-case and pressing it backwardly against the said retainer, whereby the operator may firmly gras the bobbin-case and looper between the thumb and finger, as shown in Fig. 4.

The means shown in the present case for so sup orting the retainer 14 comprises ahead 60 s idably supported within .a counter-part o ening in the forward end of the driver sfiaft 13 and carrying at its front end the retainer 14, the said head being limited in its movement within the shaft 13 by means of a pin 61 thereon operating within a longitudinal slot 62 in the shaft 13, and being yieldingly held in its normal operative position with the said pin 61 at the forward end of the slot 62, as shown in Fig. 3, by means of a coiled spring 63 expanding between a shoulder 64 on the head 60 and the inner end wall of the opening in the shaft 13. As a means for maintaining the adjustability of the re tainer 14 with respect to the front retainer 12, it has a screw-threaded connection with the head 60 in the same manner as it does with the driver shaft direct in the construction shown in the aforesaid patent.

What I claim is:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination of a rotary looper and a bobbin-case and bobbin contained within said looper, the said bobbin-case being open at one side for the insertion and removal of a bobbin and being provided at its opposite side with a fingerreceiving opening, and bobbin-retainers for engaging a bobbin within the bobbin-case at opposite sides thereof, one of said retainers being yieldingly held in normal operative position to permit of its endwise movement relatively to the other, for the purpose set forth.

2. In asewing machine, the combination of a rotary looper and a bobbin-case and bobbin contained within said looper, the said looper and bobbin-case both being open at one side for the insertion and removal of a bobbin to and from a position within the bobbin-case and the said bobbin-case being provided at its opposite end with a bobbinretainer and with a finger-receiving opening, and a second bobbin-retainer at that side of the bobbin opposite the first-mentioned retainer and being cooperative with the latter 'to holdthe bobbin against undue endwise movement therebetween, said second retainer bemg yieldingly held for endwise movement relatively to the other retainer, for the v purpose-set forth.

3. In a sewing machine,the combination of a rotary looper and a bobbin-case and bobbin contained within said looper, the said looper and-bobbin-case both being open at their rear side for the insertion and removal of a bobbin to and from a position within the bobbin-case and the said bobbin-case being provided at its front side with a bobbinretainer and with a fingenreceiving opening, and a second bobbin-retainer at the rear side of the'bobbin cooperative with the first mentioned bobbin-retainer to hold the bobbin against undue endwise movement therebetween said second retainer bein yieldingly-held for endwise movement re atively to the other retainer, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a sewing machine, the combination of a rotary looper and a bobbin-case and bobbin contained within said looper, the said looper and bobbin-case both being open at their rear side for the insertion and removal of a bobbin to and from a position within the bobbin-case and the said bobbin-case being provided at its front-side with a bobbinretainer and with a finger-receiving opening, and a second bobbin-retainer supported independent of the bobbin-case at the rear side of the bobbin and being cooperative with the first mentioned bobbin-retainer to hold the bobbin against undue endwise movement therebetween, said second retainer being yieldingly held for endwise movement relatively to the other retainer, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a sewing machine, the combination with a rotary looper-driver, of a looper detachably connected with said driver and having a bobbin-case and bobbin supported therein, the said looper and bobbin-case both being open at their rearside for the insertion and removal of the bobbin to and from a position within the bobbin-case and the said bobbin-case being provided at its front 'side with a bobbin-retainer. and with a finger-receiving opening, and a second bobbin-retainer carried by the looper-driver in position at the rear side of the bobbin and being cooperative with the first mentioned bobbin-retainer to hold the bobbin therebetween, said second retainer bein yieldingly-held for endwise movement re atively to the other retainer, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a sewing machine, the combination of a rotary looper-driver having a yieldinglyheld head, a looper detachably connected with said driver and having a bobbin-case and bobbin supported therein, the said looper and bobbin-case both being open at their rear side for the insertion and removal of the bobbin to and from a position within the bobbin-case and the said bobbin-case being provided at its front side with a bobbin- Signed at New York, in-the county of "New York, and State of New York this 27 thday 10 of September A. D. 1907.

EDWIN J..To 'or. Witnesses:

CHAS. -F. DANE, M. E. STANTON. 

